Stellar Performance
by mdelpin
Summary: When Lyon learns of Gray's feelings for Natsu he decides to enlist Lucy's help to get the two stubborn mages together. Loke volunteers to act as a go-between for the two mages, but due to Fairy Tail's usual nosiness, Lyon ends up fake dating Loke instead. Written for Lyoke Week 2019
1. Chapter 1

Lyoke Week 2019

Prompt: Warmth

Stellar Conquest

Chapter 1

_Somewhere in Crocus_, _x-791_

"Stay focused, this is a war zone!"

Lyon kept his eyes on their surroundings trying to stay ahead of the never-ending throng of dragonlings. He thought Gray would heed his warning, so he was surprised to hear him continue to speak.

"Juvia, listen for a sec. There's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now."

"Whatever something is, I'm ready to hear it..."

"I mean it's not that big of a deal but—"

Lyon listened on in disbelief. Could his idiotic foster brother be choosing this moment to confess his love for Juvia? It didn't make sense, Gray had said over and over he wasn't interested, so why now? Lyon hoped not, he really was enamored of the blue-haired water mage, and he'd wanted to spend some time with her in Crocus if she'd allow it.

A rustle of falling gravel caught his attention, and he saw a small group of dragonlings climb over the rubble and ignite their breath attacks, all focused on the spot where Juvia and Gray were standing.

"Juvia move!" Lyon yelled in desperation, it was too late for him to do anything himself. Gray moved and shoved Juvia out of the way, but Lyon didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief as something much worse than Juvia being attacked unfolded right in front of his eyes.

A multitude of beams converged to pierce Gray's body, now occupying the space Juvia had, only seconds earlier, Lyon could just watch as Gray collapsed to the ground with a dull thud after one last beam pierced his head.

"GRAAAAAAAAAY!" Lyon screamed in agony, suddenly not caring about the dragonlings or anything else, not now that his last remaining family member lay dead in front of him.

That's when things got decidedly strange, for suddenly, like a granted wish that he never knew he'd asked for Gray was standing in front of him once more and the same situation was playing out again. For a moment Lyon thought he'd somehow tapped into some new ability, one that let him see the future, but he could see that all of them looked disconcerted and he heard Gray utter words he hoped to never hear again.

"I died?" Gray examined his body, reassuring himself that he was still alive. Meredy reminded them where the dragonlings had come from, and this time Gray was ready, attacking them with his ice. They left the area as quickly as possible.

Lyon could tell that Gray was still shaken, but he fought on as he always did, interiorizing his feelings to analyze them later. Lyon was determined to talk to him about it before they left back to their respective guilds. The last thing Gray needed was one more thing to fester in his already overburdened soul.

The opportunity arose after the Grand Magic Ball. Lyon watched with disgust as Juvia continued to fawn over his brother, but this time Lyon was paying attention. The loss he'd been forced to witness had made him hyperaware of every little thing Gray said and did. It was the only way to really gauge how Gray was doing since he would never voice anything serious. Everything in Gray's body language screamed leave me alone, and for the first time, Lyon realized that Gray had been telling him the truth the whole time.

Lyon had expected Juvia to apologize, to realize that her constant behavior around Gray had been part of the reason for his death and to change, but she acted as if nothing had happened and that irked him. His brother had almost been taken away from them, and she was going on about being Juvia 2.0 or some other nonsense. He realized then that his feelings for her had diminished after the incident.

Gray told her off, and even then she refused to accept it, continuing to attempt to cling to him. Thankfully Natsu showed up just in time to horrify everyone with his antics. Lyon turned to say something to Gray, and that's when he noticed, even though Gray was smiling he looked troubled. He decided to ask Gray if he wanted to leave the ball.

There were no bars open, so with a mischievous look they stole a few bottles from the party and left before anyone could notice. They walked around the ruins of the city, each drinking from their own bottle, unconsciously heading towards where _it _had happened. They sat among the rubble and continued to drink, taking in the destruction they had been such a central part of.

"Are you okay?" Lyon asked before cursing himself. What a stupid thing to ask, of course he wasn't okay.

Gray laughed nervously, his hand shaking as it moved to touch the spot where the final beam had pierced his head.

"What was so important you had to tell Juvia right then?" Lyon wasn't sure Gray was drunk enough yet for him to probe but sitting in the ruins of where he'd watched Gray die was making him antsy, he'd rather be anywhere else.

Instead of answering him directly Gray seemed to be having a conversation with himself, "I died and I never even told him."

Now Lyon was confused, who was Gray talking about? "Him?"

"Natsu," The name came out in a whisper, but Lyon still heard it and while it shocked him to learn that his brother harbored feelings for his rival it also felt oddly right.

He knew there was a lot of history between the two men, he supposed it wasn't surprising for feelings to develop. Gray had always closed himself off from people, but from what Lyon had seen on Galuna Island and while fighting the Oracion Seis, Natsu was able to get through to his brother better than anyone else.

It begged the question, did Natsu feel the same way?

"I - there's still time, somehow you got a second chance, just tell him now."

"Why would he want me?" Gray once again laughed, "I'm a mess and he's-"

"Also a mess?" Lyon added helpfully, thinking of the Fire Dragon Slayer and his constant penchant for destruction and chaos.

"No, no," Gray's words were starting to bunch up on each other, and he waved Lyon's words away making him wonder if Gray was really that drunk or merely trying to get out of the conversation.

"Warm," Gray smiled blissfully as he said the word, his eyes almost shut, but even so Lyon had to acknowledge he hadn't seen him look so happy in years. It was a look Lyon recognized from shared evenings sipping hot cocoa with Ur when they were children, and it filled him with a longing for those simpler times.

Gray opened his eyes, his body swaying a bit, "Don't wanna scare him, need him."

Lyon stared, he couldn't remember the last time Gray had said so many words about how he felt in one sitting. He must really be drunk.

Gray uttered one last phrase before collapsing in the same spot he'd died, "So tired of being cold."

He'd passed out leaving Lyon to figure out how to get him back to his room. He was somewhat honored that Gray had confided in him, even if he'd had to be extremely drunk to do so. As he carried his brother back, he began to think about how he could help him out. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Gray.

O-o

Front of Lamia Scale Guild - Margaret Town x-792

Natsu raced headfirst into a horde of monsters screaming "Get outta my way!" as he headbutted his way through, intent on getting his Exceed, Happy, back from Chelia.

Lyon couldn't help but chuckle at his idiocy, which he'd come to find oddly endearing. He watched as monsters flew left and right in Natsu's wake. Lyon could tell the Fire Dragon Slayer had gotten a lot stronger this last year, it was evident in the way none of the monsters were attempting to get back up. His thoughts quickly went to his foster brother and wondered with amusement what Gray would think when he saw Natsu again.

Gray had been a source of worry for him for the last few months, he'd disappeared entirely off the radar. No one seemed to know where he'd gone to and with Fairy Tail disbanded there was no easy way to keep track of its mages. Still, he'd hoped that Gray would have made a point to stay in touch every once in a while, let him know he was alright. Lyon worried about him after all.

The monsters charged ever closer to the Lamia Scale guild forcing Lyon to halt his thoughts and focus his attention on them. He got into his Ice Maker stance and was already freezing the monsters when he noticed a bright light glowing next to him. He gave a quick look to make sure that Lucy was okay and saw a man standing next to her.

He was tall, his lean body accentuated by the fitted suit he wore. He had a head of messy orange hair, and even though it was nighttime, he wore sunglasses. Lyon was intrigued as to where he'd come from but soon remembered that Lucy's magic consisted of using her keys to summon spirits from the Celestial Kingdom. This must be one of her celestial spirits, although he couldn't be sure as he had not heard her invoke any.

He continued to fight the monsters keeping his eye on how Toby and Yuka were faring, ready to lend a hand if needed. Every once in a while when there was a lull in the attacks Lyon's eyes would make their way back to the celestial spirit, he now knew to be called Leo. His magic exuded a warmth that immediately appealed to the ice mage. Leo was clearly skilled at fighting, dispensing a large number of the monsters with barely any effort. He caught Lyon's gaze and winked as he continued fighting by his master's side.

Just as quickly as the attack started it was over, they could only assume Natsu, Wendy and Chelia had defeated the mages from Orochi's Fin that were behind it. With no enemy left to fight the mages made their way back inside the Lamia Scale guild and sat at the bar to celebrate their victory.

Lyon sat next to Lucy, there were things he wanted to discuss with her without any of the other Fairy Tail mages around. He ignored the celestial spirit who had chosen to sit next to him, figuring since he was contracted to Lucy anything Lyon said to her should be held in confidence.

"Have you heard from Gray?" Lyon came straight to the point, it had been months since he'd heard from his brother and he thought if anyone knew where he might be it would be one of his teammates.

He could see he was wrong the moment he saw Lucy's face become serious.

"I tried to keep track of everyone, but I lost Gray some months ago," Lucy looked down at the table, "I'm sorry."

Lyon shrugged into his drink, "No need, I lost track of him too. I don't know why I'm surprised, after everything that happened at Tartaros I can imagine none of you was too keen on company."

"I'm just worried about him you know, that was a lot to deal with," Lyon sipped his drink slowly pondering how to bring up what he wanted to know, "At least Natsu looks well."

Lucy's lips curled into a sad smile, "He does, but I can tell he still hasn't worked through anything. Those two, huh?"

They clinked mugs in a silent toast to their friends. After a few minutes spent coming up with ruses Lyon decided this was one case where honesty would work better. "Can I ask you something?"

Lucy smiled at him, intrigued. She knew Lyon wasn't much of a talker. "Of course."

"You and Natsu, are you together?"

Lucy, who had been mid drink, spit out the contents of her mouth all over Lyon. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

Leo began to laugh. "Are you interested in her or him?"

"Sorry?" Lyon turned his attention towards Leo as he looked around for something to wipe his face.

Leo removed a handkerchief from his suit pocket and smiled as the flustered Lyon cleaned himself off. "The name is Loke by the way."

"Thanks, " Lyon gestured at the handkerchief, "I'll get it cleaned for you." He stretched out his hand towards the celestial spirit and introduced himself, "I'm Lyon."

Loke shook his hand firmly, "Ah, so you're Gray's foster brother, I've heard a lot about you."

"As for my earlier question, I find humans tend to dance around the questions they really want to ask. I was just trying to save you both some time."

"Uhm, Natsu I guess," Loke was looking at him appraisingly, and Lyon was not prepared for the sharpness of his gaze. He realized that his words could be misinterpreted, "Oh not for me, for a friend."

"A friend, you say?" The gleam in Loke's eyes made no effort to hide that he didn't believe Lyon's words, but his smile was amused like he was sharing a joke only he and Lyon understood.

"Leave him alone, Loke," Lucy chastised her spirit, Loke was a flirt, and she'd seen the way he was looking at Lyon.

"No, Lyon. Natsu and I are not together," Lucy's smile was a bit sad around the edges, but Lyon couldn't detect any animosity. "The truth is Natsu's heart has belonged to someone for a very long time, I never really had a chance."

"Oh, so there _is_ someone," Lyon was disappointed, he'd hoped he could help Gray, but if Natsu were already involved with someone else, he would have to respect it. "Does Gray know?"

At this point, both Lucy and Loke began to laugh together.

"What's so funny?"

"No, Gray doesn't know," Loke took the initiative, talking although Lucy was smacking his arm yelling at him to be quiet.

"I will close your gate!"

"Actually, Princess I came here on my own power so you can't. Besides, if he knows something then maybe Natsu could get what he's always wanted. He's your friend, don't you want to help him out?"

Lucy became quiet and looked around nervously, probably worried Natsu would return soon.

"Is Gray the friend you're referring to?" Loke once again got straight to the point, and Lyon found that he really liked that about the spirit. He found himself nodding in agreement before he realized he'd just betrayed his brother's drunken confidence.

"Excellent!" Loke grinned, "I've known your brother for years, but I could never get him to admit to anything."

"Wait, you're saying that Gray likes him back?" Lucy squealed, all vestiges of her earlier nervousness gone. "That's wonderful!"

"Not so loud," Lyon hissed, "I'm not supposed to know."

He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation.

"Are you sure about Natsu?" Lyon pressed Lucy.

"Y-yeah," To Lyon's surprise, Lucy's face had turned beet red at his question. Loke was laughing at her with uncontrollable mirth, and the sound made Lyon smile despite his confusion.

"She caught him jer-" Loke attempted to explain, but Lucy began to punch his chest repeatedly.

"Shut up! You promised you'd never tell anyone about that!"

"She's sure," Loke grinned, once again winking at Lyon.

"Oh," Lyon blushed as well, although he wasn't sure whether it was because of the implication that Natsu touched himself to thoughts of his brother or Loke's wink beginning to affect him. He decided to go with the former, it was more comfortable than thinking he might be interested in a man. Not even a man, a celestial spirit.

He shook his head trying to clear all thoughts other than figuring out how to get Natsu and Gray together out of his mind. "So, now that we know, what do we do?"

"I think it's obvious, we try to get them together," Loke looked over to his master, awaiting her approval.

"I think it's a bad idea, they're both really private... but if we can somehow get them together," Lucy mused, chewing on a lock of her hair, "Maybe they can help each other get through Tartaros."

Lyon nodded in agreement, "But how do we go about it, if I start spending time with Lucy won't it seem a bit strange? No offense."

"You're right, so I can be the go between. I can come and go as I please as long as Lucy doesn't need me," Loke shrugged, "Besides, it's about time those two idiots got their act together, and... I'm not averse to seeing more of you."

Lyon wasn't sure what to make of that last comment, so he just ignored it, telling himself Loke was just friendly. He kind of wished that they'd come up with another solution, Loke unsettled him, but he could put up with it for Gray's sake.

"Once we find Gray and get everyone back we'll come up with a plan," Lucy's excitement was contagious, and all three of them clinked mugs.

Talk moved on to other things, and by the time Natsu arrived with the girls they were all laughing like old friends.


	2. Chapter 2

Gratsubingo 2019

Prompt: Free - Concern

Chapter 2

Gray had been looking forward to going home. He'd spent the whole day helping out with the construction of the new guild, listening with dismay to all the whispers of how he and Juvia had supposedly "shacked up" for six months. No matter how many times he'd tried to explain that's not what happened, no one had listened, too intent on the juicy gossip to care about his feelings.

He'd lost track of Natsu sometime during the day, and that saddened him. Things between them had most definitely not been the same since returning from his mission infiltrating the Avatar cult. The disappointment he'd seen on Natsu's face at seeing him in that place had almost made him forget that he wasn't there of his own volition.

It had been painful to tell Natsu and Lucy he didn't consider them friends anymore, but he'd had to do it so as not to jeopardize the mission. He'd explained his actions to them afterward, and although Lucy had accepted his apology, he could tell that something was still bothering Natsu about the whole situation.

They'd barely talked since and that hurt Gray more than he'd let on. The whole year they'd been apart Gray had thought of Natsu often. About how things might have been different if he'd dared to confess his feelings after the Grand Magic Games.

Would Natsu have stayed or would he have asked him along, instead of leaving like a thief in the night with only the briefest of notes to Lucy? Even that had hurt, Gray had known Natsu far longer than Lucy, yet the note had been written to her. Did that mean the dragon slayer was in love with her?

Gray always stopped his thoughts there, not willing to give up on the hope that his feelings might be returned. So instead he'd think of what Natsu might be up to in his absence. Sometimes he'd amuse himself, imagining the types of trouble Natsu might be getting into, but mostly he worried.

Tartaros had opened a lot of wounds in its wake, wounds they were all still slowly recovering from, but the dragon slayers had certainly had it the worst. And none worse than Natsu.

Sure, Gray had lost his father again, but he'd already mourned him once, and he'd chosen to look at the little time he'd gotten to spend with Silver as a gift, no matter how awful the circumstances around it had been.

But Natsu had lost Igneel, who had been his driving force since the day Gray had met him all those years ago. He'd found out his father had been hiding inside him all along and before he even had a chance to talk to him he'd witnessed Igneel brutally killed in front of him by the same dragon that had almost destroyed them at Tenrou.

Gray knew that had to be tearing him apart, and he'd wanted to ask Happy how Natsu was doing, but he was afraid of the answer, knowing that when it came to keeping strong feelings bottled up, Natsu could give him a run for his jewels. He wanted to help him, but he didn't know how to go about it.

So even though he was tired he walked around Magnolia, trying to come up with a way to talk to Natsu while taking in the subtle changes the city had undergone as it had once again been forced to rebuild.

He kept an eye out for Juvia, aware that she wanted to talk to him about his abrupt departure from the house they'd shared, but he'd been evading that particular conversation just as much as he'd been trying to initiate one with Natsu.

He didn't feel he owed her anything, she'd guilted him into letting her live with him, it wasn't something he would've chosen for himself. He'd wanted to be on his own, to grieve and to train in the new magic his father had passed on to him, but even training felt empty without Natsu there to push him.

Before he knew it, he'd reached the park and spotted Natsu sitting by himself underneath one of the large trees. He stopped in his tracks and bit his lip, but Natsu had already scented him. He looked up and gave Gray a hesitant smile even as he wiped at his eyes.

Gray decided to take that as an invitation and made his way over, his heart racing as he worried about how it would go. He sat down next to Natsu and remained quiet, taking in the beauty of the park and ignoring the racing of his heart as he wondered where this conversation would lead them .

Xxx

Lyon and his team had just entered the guild after a particularly difficult mission. They were tired but happy to have completed it successfully with minimal injuries, although Toby had managed to poison himself once again. Lyon looked for Ooba, their wizened guild master, wanting to report on their mission before heading home to a shower and bed.

He spotted her sitting at a table talking to a man with orange hair, and he began to feel uneasy. Ooba was smiling, which by itself was strange, but Lyon could swear his guild master was flirting with the much younger man. He stopped in his tracks, heartbeat quickening a bit as he hoped against hope that it wasn't who he thought it was.

"Isn't that the Celestial Spirit guy?" Yuka muttered, "What was his name?"

"Loke," Lyon replied, keeping his voice low and wondering if he could leave the guild before the man noticed him.

He would be lying if he said he hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about the night of the Orochi Fin attack. He'd convinced himself it had been a fluke, he was way too old to be having a sexuality crisis.

Lyon told himself the nascent attraction he'd felt towards the man was just interest at meeting a Celestial Spirit. But just being in the same room with the guy was making him feel jumpy, which wasn't normal for him.

Ooba took that moment to notice their arrival, her smile withering into her usual scowl as she addressed her mages.

"Well? How did it go?"

"It went just fine, " Lyon snapped, irritated that she would question them. "We were able to complete it without much trouble."

"Is that so?" Ooba studied Toby carefully, "Then why does Toby look like he's injured?"

"He injured himself," Yuka informed her, "Again."

"Toby, how many times have I told you to be careful? I'm going to spin you!" Ooba yelled as she moved her index finger in a circular motion, Toby's body rotating in mid-air as he moaned piteously.

Lyon had been so fixated on what was going on with his team that he'd failed to notice Loke getting up from his chair and coming to stand next to him.

"Hey there," Loke greeted him, making no effort to hide the fact that he was admiring Lyon. "I was looking for you."

Lyon could feel himself getting flustered as a result of Loke's ardent gaze. He willed ice into his veins, refusing to give the Celestial Spirit the reaction he was so obviously after.

"I hope you weren't waiting for long?" Lyon replied politely, and he was pleased to see the Celestial Spirit deflate a bit at his aloofness, that was until he countered with a grin that went through Lyon like a bolt of lightning.

The poor ice mage thought he'd seen stars sparkle around Loke. This time he wasn't able to hold the flush from adorning his cheeks as the room became unbearably warm.

"I could wait an eternity for someone like you," Loke grabbed Lyon's hand and kissed it. As much as Lyon wanted to protest, to say he wasn't a woman and he didn't like to be touched so freely he was so outside of his comfort zone, his brain didn't seem capable of reacting as it usually would.

"You don't know anything about me!" Lyon wrestled his hand out of the Celestial Mage's grip, wiping it on his pants leg.

"A misfortune I would love to rectify," Loke winked and just like last time it affected Loke in ways he didn't understand.

What the hell was happening to him? Why did this guy stir him up like this? Ugh! One thing was for sure he didn't like it at all. Lyon didn't like losing control, he preferred his world to be ordered, and Loke was a distraction he was beginning to resent, and he'd only met him twice.

Why was he putting up with it again? His brain helpfully reminded him that he was doing this for a good reason. Gray. They were trying to get Gray together with Natsu.

"So does your visit mean you have news?" Lyon asked with interest, now that he had Gray on his mind he used him as a shield against Loke's charm.

"How about we go for a walk, I've heard the gardens are beautiful this time of year?" Loke suggested, looking around the guildhall with obvious distaste.

"Here is just fine," Lyon was determined to stay, he had no desire to be alone with Loke. He was starting to look at this as a battle, and he could already tell he'd need the home advantage.

Loke just shrugged and took a seat at the nearest table. He made a gesture to one of the servers and ordered them some food and drink.

"I can order for myself, you know," Lyon muttered wryly.

"You looked tired, I thought you might enjoy being taken care of for a bit," Loke smiled innocently, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I'm only in this for Gray," Lyon made sure to imbue his voice with as much of his element as he was able, but Loke only laughed.

"Are you sure you and Gray aren't related by blood?"

Lyon arched an eyebrow, but Loke didn't expand on his comment. "There's nothing wrong with having some fun as part of a job is there?" Loke asked, but he backed off.

"I came to offer you news of Gray, but I don't think you're going to like it much."

"What do you mean, is he alright?" Lyon immediately tensed up, as much as he'd been asking around he hadn't been able to find any news.

"Well good news first, Fairy Tail has reformed with Erza as their Master," Loke informed the Lamia Scale wizard.

"Erza?" Lyon scratched his chin as he gave the matter some thought. He would have expected Laxus to take over as guild master, Erza was a somewhat scary thought. As capable as the requip mage was, she was volatile. Then again, they all were.

Loke nodded, "They're still rebuilding the guildhall, and most everyone is back, but Makarov is still missing.

"What about Gray?" Their food arrived, and Lyon had to admit everything Lyon had ordered looked incredible, he made no comment though, knowing it would only encourage Loke.

Loke studied him for a moment, and Lyon was instantly worried, he had the look of a man that was trying to figure out how to best phrase something. "He is alright?"

"He joined a dark cult called Avatar."

"HE DID WHAT?!" Lyon shrieked at the top of his lungs, causing everyone in the guild to stop what they were doing and look over at him with concern.

Lyon stood up from the table, grabbing Loke by the arm and dragging him outside.

"Avatar, that mess everyone's been talking about?" He hissed, "Gray was a part of that?"

When Loke nodded, Lyon was almost blinded by the rage, "That goddamned idiot, what the hell was he thinking?"

Loke tried to talk, but Lyon was in no condition to listen to anything he had to say, having already made a hasty decision and walking away.

"Lyon, wait!" Loke chased after him, his initial enjoyment at seeing this side of the cold mage turning to worry as he witnessed the fury that was fueling him. "Where are you going?"

"Magnolia," Lyon grunted as he walked ever faster.

"Shit!" Loke winced, not sure who was going to kill him first, Lucy for having shown up at Lamia Scale without discussing it with her first or Gray for bringing Lyon's rage upon him."

He ran after Lyon, hoping that he could calm him down during the train ride.

A/N: I'd had part of this written for a while but Gratsu Bingo inspired me to finish it. Not sure when it will next update...


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